Unit 4   Body language

Yesterday another student and I,     1     our university’s student association, went to meet this year’s international students. After half an hour of waiting. I saw several young people enter the waiting area looking around     2    . I went forward to greet them. After being introduced, they greeted each other in different ways, causing some     3     and culture mistakes.

As I get to know more intemational friends, I learn more about this cultural “body language”. Not all cultures greet each other the same way, nor are they comfortable in the same way with touching or distance between people. In the same way that people     4     with spoken language, they also express their feelings through physical distance, actions or     5    . English people, for example, do not usually stand very close to others     6     they meet. However, people from places like Spain, Italy or South American countries     7     others closely and are more likely to touch them. Most people around the world now greet each other by shaking hands, but some cultures use other greetings as well, such as the Japanese, who prefer to bow.

These actions are simply ways in which cultures have developed. I have seen, however, that cultural customs for body language are very general—not all members of a culture     8     in the same way.     9    , though, studying international customs can certainly help     10     difficulties in today’s world of cultural crossroads.